Andrew Young Posted July 13, 2015 Author Share Posted July 13, 2015 (edited) Thanks gents. Some more progress to report. In addition to getting on with a few jobs round the house, I've been making some progress with the coach and also been up in the attic laying some more track. Spiking flat bottom rail is like many other things in life, a knack. One which causes you a lot of cursing whilst you get the knack then seems relatively straight forward after. So yesterday's initial track laying was met by lots of cursing. However, this morning, a steady session aided by some suitably relaxing music has seen nearly half the first siding laid. Have to admit, I do prefer the flimsy look of the F/B rail more than the bullhead, more in keeping with what I'm trying to achieve. Lined up against the MW, there's more of a tramway air about the place than a Light Railway, maybe the MVR will evolve into the MVT? Who knows?! The ankle is well on the mend, and I'm off the antibiotics. There will be more track laying tomorrow, but first, a drink or two in Burton beckons this afternoon... Cheers, Andrew Edited July 13, 2015 by Andrew Young 13 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Donw Posted July 13, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 13, 2015 Tramway sound nice there is not a lot of difference between some light railways and tramways. Don Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Young Posted July 13, 2015 Author Share Posted July 13, 2015 Tramway sound nice there is not a lot of difference between some light railways and tramways. Don True Don! In theory there's continuous brakes, facing point locking, signals and block working to differentiate the two. But in practice, just because it was fitted doesn't mean it was used! Cheers, Andrew Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
81A Oldoak Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Great progress Andrew, and I really like the Selsey coach. Cheers, Dave. And I really like the Manning Wardle loco. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Young Posted July 13, 2015 Author Share Posted July 13, 2015 And I really like the Manning Wardle loco. Thought you might! I really like how the Manning Wardle looks with the Selsey coach... Cheers, Andrew Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium DLT Posted July 13, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 13, 2015 A shame to paint them... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSR Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 The spiked track looks great and just right for a light railway. Did you have spiking tool or is it just patience and a good set of pliers? Ken Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Young Posted July 15, 2015 Author Share Posted July 15, 2015 Ken, I have use of a pair of 'Spike Insertion Pliers' made in America by Micro Mark. Essentially, they're a pair of pliers with a 'T' shaped groove cut in the nose to grip the spike. The tools used are shown here: The order of work I've followed is: 1. Glue template to board. 2. Glue sleepers to template. 3. Once dry, lay out first rail by eye. 4. Drill 0.5mm diameter pilot holes for spikes. (An Archimedes screw type drill was recommended to me for this and has proved worth its weight in gold!) 5. Trim the heads of the spikes with the end cutters (I do them in batches) so they sit snugly against the foot of the rail. 6. Insert spikes with pliers. 7. Hammer home spikes with hammer and punch. 8. Align second rail using roller gauges (with care, the C&L ones can be used). 9. Repeat steps 4 to 7 with rail held to gauge. 10. Repeat Ad Nauseum until all rail is laid. For fishplates, I've trimmed C&L ones to act as joggle plates where it meets the bullhead rail and fettled the rail head with a needle file to achieve as level a rail head as I can. For fishplates between two lengths of flat bottomed rail, I've used the 3D printed ones sold by Zamzoodled designed for the lighter section rail and they seem to work so far, but then the spikes do hold the rail very tightly to the sleeper. Glad that I'm nearing the end of this track laying session, although a short section compared to some layouts, it does seem to have taken an age! I'm pleased with the results though and once you get into the swing of it, a couple of hours with some relaxing music is quite therapeutic! Plus, having the board height at 4ft ish, not too back breaking either. Cheers, Andrew 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSR Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Those pliers sound a useful piece of kit. There used to be a Kaydee spiking tool rather like a staple gun but I think they went out of production some years ago. I must admit, I cheat by using copperclad, soldering the rail to it and disguising it all with the ballast. Ken Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold ngtrains.com Posted July 16, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 16, 2015 (edited) Kadee made one too Edited July 16, 2015 by ngtrains.com Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Young Posted July 18, 2015 Author Share Posted July 18, 2015 Those pliers sound a useful piece of kit. There used to be a Kaydee spiking tool rather like a staple gun but I think they went out of production some years ago. I must admit, I cheat by using copperclad, soldering the rail to it and disguising it all with the ballast. Ken Ken, The Kadee tool sounds good, the pliers are very time consuming though I do like the look of the track it produces. I'm also impressed by the strength of the grip the spikes have on the rail, by no means inferior to soldered joints. Oh and calling Kadee Kaydee makes Mr Martin very angry... Cheers, Andrew Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Young Posted July 18, 2015 Author Share Posted July 18, 2015 No modelling today, instead, I've been out enjoying the sunny weather at Foxfield. It's their gala this weekend and the visiting loco is 'Wissington'. Having a full size version of the Ixion Hudswell Clarke less than half an hour's drive away was too much to resist!! Also had a ride on the Knotty Train, very suitable for such a line as the Foxfield. Chance to ride again behind 'Bellerophon'. A lovely antique kettle, the lack of even a kit in 7mm scale is disappointing. An ideal prototype for thae nice Mr Klein to produce...? A couple of photos from this morning... Cheers, Andrew 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
81A Oldoak Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 No modelling today, instead, I've been out enjoying the sunny weather at Foxfield. It's their gala this weekend and the visiting loco is 'Wissington'. Having a full size version of the Ixion Hudswell Clarke less than half an hour's drive away was too much to resist!! Also had a ride on the Knotty Train, very suitable for such a line as the Foxfield. Chance to ride again behind 'Bellerophon'. A lovely antique kettle, the lack of even a kit in 7mm scale is disappointing. An ideal prototype for thae nice Mr Klein to produce...? A couple of photos from this morning... image.jpg image.jpg image.jpg Cheers, Andrew The Hudswell Clarke is very nice, but could do with some weathering to make it look more realistic. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcD Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 The well tank looks like a interesting prototype. It might be something we might be interested in producing a kit for it to add to our growing loco portfolio if there is enough demand. Marc 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Young Posted July 18, 2015 Author Share Posted July 18, 2015 Yes Chris, looked a bit 'out of the box', did look rather nice in the morning sun though. Marc, would certainly be an interesting prototype! More infornation here: http://www.vintagecarriagestrust.org/Bell.htm Cheers, Andrew Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcD Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 Might have to have trip to Staffordshire with a tape measure and a camera as I'm guessing that GA drawings will be a bit thin on the ground! Marc 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Donw Posted July 20, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 20, 2015 Love the shots from Foxfield. Don Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Young Posted July 27, 2015 Author Share Posted July 27, 2015 (edited) Rather belatedly, some more photos from Foxfield are on my Flickr page: https://m.flickr.com/#/photos/pandaonetwofive/sets/72157654095938074/ The delay in uploading (and the lack of modelling last week) has been due to enjoying the second week of my summer leave. We borrowed my parents' camper van and headed north for the week. Mostly spent exploring the Northumberland Coast, the view overlooking the coast and Holy Island at Beal was particularly impressive. Nearby, think we stumbled across Minerva Models' northern hideaway... There were also plenty of Castles, including this one at Bamburgh (didn't there used to be a railway near there...) Touring southwards, we spent an excellent day at Beamish, a fantastic living museum, plenty of inspiration. Found a couple of wonderfully weird machines and will have to return when they're in steam. Spent a moment or two drooling over a couple of machines next door which won't steam for a little while. Squeezed in some steam with a visit to a different TR, the Tanfield Railway. A cracking run behind 'Sir Cecil A Cochrane' and a look round the atmospheric Marley Hill shed. Our final stop was a night in Masham, The Black Sheep Brewery providing just as adept at fine food as well as fine ale, followed the following morning by heading home the scenic way and the ghosts of reservoir builders in Colsterdale and Nidderdale. It's back home, back to work and back to the modelling bench. Cheers, Andrew Edited July 27, 2015 by Andrew Young 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brack Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Bamburgh didn't have a railway, though the north Sunderland railway had proposed an extension from sea houses to bamburgh. There was an industrial ng line around budle bay. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Young Posted July 28, 2015 Author Share Posted July 28, 2015 Brack, correct. As the North Sunderland Railway was struggling to attract enough investors at the time, my suspicion is that the proposal for an extension to Bamburgh may well have been intended as a carrot to attract Lord Armstrong of Bamburgh Castle to invest in the line, which he subsequently did. There's an excellent Oakwood Press book on the line, my holiday reading was chosen carefully with our tour in mind... Cheers, Andrew 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brack Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Yes, there seem to have been several appeals to Lord Armstrong! Also regarding the diesel locos. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hartleymartin Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 I'm after the revised edition of the book on the Easingwold Railway. I managed to get two first editions, but still hunting for the revised one. Not easy to lay your hands on some of these books when you're in the antipodes! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium DLT Posted July 30, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 30, 2015 Bamburgh didn't have a railway, though the north Sunderland railway had proposed an extension from sea houses to bamburgh. They got as far as naming a loco after it.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Young Posted July 31, 2015 Author Share Posted July 31, 2015 Yes DLT, I wonder whether the naming of the loco was in part an attempt to appeal to Lord Armstrong's generosity? Brack, yes, was a continuing an interesting relationship between the NSR and Lord Armstrong. Was a very useful, influential and wealthy man to have living just down the road! Martin, no, not the easiest place to go looking for esoteric railway books! Have quite an extensive collection of Oakwood Press books on the more bucolic lines, bought over the years by rummaging around in various second hand book stalls at exhibitions and on visits to preserved railways. You never know which box might unearth a gem. Think Amazon or ABEBooks are your best bet from afar. I do rather like the Oakwood books, nicely compact, with plenty of information describing the line, how it was worked and with what stock was used as well as a concise chapter on how the line came about. The size is also just right for slipping into my Talyllyn Rules & Signalling Regs folder when manning a TR signalling shack for the day... Cheers, Andrew Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKR Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Second the recommendation for Abe books. Get most of my railway reference books from there at reasonable prices.. Best of all they will save your wants and email you when a copy surfaces. BTW great thread Andrew. Don't stop . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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